Advanced Vehicle-Infrastructure Communication and Safety

TTI projects span the range of transportation research topics: from traditional areas, like highway safety and pavement design, to advanced vehicle information systems, multimodal integration, sustainable design and e-commerce. Where available, links to news stories and stories in the Texas Transportation Researcher, TTI’s flagship quarterly publication, are provided for each topic below.

Project Highlights

Connecting Vehicle to Infrastructure Research Partnership with UMTRI

TTI and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) are collaborating on new research funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation that connects vehicles to infrastructure to benefit safety, mobility and the environment. Key collaborative areas include:

Transportation data, analysis tools and national reports.

Health/medical model for transportation safety.

Freight movement.

Key objectives include:

Establish a real-world, multimodal test site in Ann Arbor for enabling wireless communications among vehicles and roadside equipment to generate data for creating safety applications.

Study passenger cars, motorcycles, commercial trucks, transit buses, and even bicycles equipped with a mix of integrated, retrofit and aftermarket vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure based safety systems.

Collaborate with UMTRI on new research plans for automated vehicles and their integrated electronic cyberphysical control systems.

Broadcast Traffic Signal Information to Vehicles

Deploy signal phasing and timing (SPaT) proof of concepts with U.S. DOT for broadcasting traffic signal information to vehicles.

TTI innovations like this one will help vehicles stay on the road, offsetting such dangerous behaviors as drowsy driving.

National Connected Vehicle Field Infrastructure Footprint Analysis

Conduct research and analysis that forms the foundation for a national connected vehicle field infrastructure footprint for the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials..

Compile data, communications, and infrastructure needs.

Create a set of generic deployment concepts.

Solicit input from state and local agencies regarding deployment priorities to create a national connected vehicle field infrastructure footprint with considerations for deployment needs, costs, workforce and training requirements and challenges to implementation.

Bluetooth readers help better inform travelers of when they can expect to arrive at their destinations.

Smart Work Zones – The I-35 Expansion Project

TxDOT’s 96-mile, $2.5-billion expansion of I-35 in Central Texas.

Created a first-of-its-kind traveler-information system that integrates Bluetooth® technology, Wavetronix sensors, and end-of-queue warning systems to forecast travel times to commuters, commercial drivers, and emergency personnel. | The I-35 Expansion Project

Policy & Planning

Policy Implications of Automated Vehicles on Texas Highways

Investigate and document the policy implications of automated vehicles on the Texas transportation system, notably in the areas of economic and societal impacts, infrastructure management, governance, issues of privacy and liability, and impacts on long-range transportation planning.

Provide technical context in support of discussions regarding policy and future research needs.